Another from L. Cohen (just because it's awesome)

Lyrics to Leonard Cohen's "Democracy"

It's coming through a hole in the air,
from those nights in Tiananmen Square.
It's coming from the feel
that this ain't exactly real,
or it's real, but it ain't exactly there.
From the wars against disorder,
from the sirens night and day,
from the fires of the homeless,
from the ashes of the gay:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It's coming through a crack in the wall;
on a visionary flood of alcohol;
from the staggering account
of the Sermon on the Mount
which I don't pretend to understand at all.
It's coming from the silence
on the dock of the bay,
from the brave, the bold, the battered
heart of Chevrolet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It's coming from the sorrow in the street,
the holy places where the races meet;
from the homicidal bitchin'
that goes down in every kitchen
to determine who will serve and who will eat.
From the wells of disappointment
where the women kneel to pray
for the grace of God in the desert here
and the desert far away:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Sail on, sail on
O mighty Ship of State!
To the Shores of Need
Past the Reefs of Greed
Through the Squalls of Hate
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on.

It's coming to America first,
the cradle of the best and of the worst.
It's here they got the range
and the machinery for change
and it's here they got the spiritual thirst.
It's here the family's broken
and it's here the lonely say
that the heart has got to open
in a fundamental way:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It's coming from the women and the men.
O baby, we'll be making love again.
We'll be going down so deep
the river's going to weep,
and the mountain's going to shout Amen!
It's coming like the tidal flood
beneath the lunar sway,
imperial, mysterious,
in amorous array:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Sail on, sail on ...

I'm sentimental, if you know what I mean
I love the country but I can't stand the scene.
And I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home tonight,
getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
that Time cannot decay,
I'm junk but I'm still holding up this little wild bouquet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Geraldo Rivera (New Voice of Reason)

Question: If we truly believe in the strength of our judicial system, shouldn't we WANT to try terrorists using it?

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-november-16-2009/law---order--ksm

Jon Stewart Calls Hannity Out

Laughing Through the Pain: My Life as a Masochist

I noticed that most of my comments on St. Obvious's blogs have a general theme to them which is me saying something like, "Very funny, yet sad and true." This causes me great pause (which of course means 10 minutes of heavy thinking in a fast-paced world such as ours) because I feel that maybe bad things should get more from me than a chuckle. Camus said "Life is absurd." I wonder what he'd say if he could only see it now, especially with things like Japanese game shows or Fox News. Maybe he would modify his words to something like "Life is fucking bat shit crazy, get me the hell outta here even though I'm not Janice Dickinson, Lou Diamond Phillips, or any other D-list celebrity!" Would he still imagine Sysiphus happy?

To quote another great philosopher "If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane" -Jimmy Buffett* So here's a clip that should help you, and if this doesn't work, there's always Prozac.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Money Shot
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Michael Moore

*I do not really believe that Jimmy Buffett is a great philosopher...

Surveillance

I think my presidential ad campaign would look something like the trailer to this awesome movie and sound something like this even more awesome song written and performed by David Lynch. *Warning: glimpses of graphic violence and adult language*

Facts About Fact-Checking

In case you missed it...

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
CNN Leaves It There
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

In Preparation for My Debate...

I couldn't help but embed this video. CAUTION: If you don't like crude humor, do NOT watch!

New Michael Moore Movie

I ran across an article about Michael Moore's new movie (opening Oct. 2nd) "Capitalism: A Love Story." First, here is the link to the article: http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.reuters.com/quotcapitalism-evilquot-says-new-michael-moore-film-reuters. And here is the trailer for the film:
I know in order to make an informed judgment we need more than just the trailer, but I'm still very curious to see what you guys think about this.

Are We Losing the News?

I was watching a GPB documentary about mentally-ill men being released from prison, the other night, and although I very rarely watch the public broadcast channel (for reasons I'm not sure of), it was a very interesting piece and there were no commercials, which was an added bonus. Anyway, to make a long story longer, after it went off, I saw that Tavis Smiley was coming on. I had never watched the show and figured I'd see what it was about. To my surprise, he just happened to be interviewing a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist named Alex S. Jones who had written a book titled Losing the News. The interview is pretty interesting and it correlates directly to many of the things we talk about in class. I couldn't get the full interview to embed, but this is the url: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic.html?s=tavi08s2fdaqb51 in case you want to see the whole thing. The video I am embedding is a 2 minute highlight. Hope you enjoy.

Why I Adore Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert blends irony and sarcasm in politics better than anyone I have ever had the pleasure of watching. He interviews authors, experts, scientists, politicians, and sometimes, ordinary citizens. As a parody on interviews done by network pundits, he oftentimes takes control of the interview and shapes it to fit any view he chooses. In my opinion, this is nothing short of hilarious and brilliant. I'm sure most of you have seen or heard of his speech at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, but if you haven't, I will embed it now because it is truly a must see!


Some people may say that Colbert has a cult following. In my opinion that is (to put it mildly) an over generalization. While it is true that some people follow him closely, I kinda doubt anyone would drink the Kool-Aid, so to speak.

Most of the time, I view politics as something to either laugh or cry about. The reason I adore Stephen Colbert is because for an all-too-short 30 minutes a night, he allows me to laugh.

Inglourious Basterds as a History Lesson

I saw this movie, yesterday, and I'll start by saying that is was awesome. However, I began to wonder how many people would think it was historically accurate... I feel ashamed to even admit that I could think such a thing but I have honestly met a few people who have no clue about any type of history that dates back to a time before their births.

So, the question I would like to pose it this: Does Quentin Tarantino have a moral responsibility to the moviegoers to make a film that tells the truth about history?

It may seem like a silly question, but I don't think it's far different than some of the questions we ask about the mass media's responsibilities.

With that being said (or rather asked), I do realize that Q.T. does not go around calling himself the "news" (although Huey Lewis's band did and no one asked to see their credentials), and that certain networks do, automatically making them seem more accountable, but you can still see the problems that can occur if people who have no knowledge of history go around thinking that what happened in the movie is what happened in actuality.

If one single person watched the movie and believed it, who would be to blame?

Media: Serpent or Scapegoat?

There is a certain cynicism in regards to media political coverage. I am by no means a stranger to the feeling. Actually, I may even go beyond a mere cynic and fall into the category of masochist, for sometimes I enjoy watching certain "news" programs because I get to experience and array of emotions that remind me that I am alive and that I do...well...care. For instance when I hear something such as this, http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html?playerId=011008&streamingFormat=FLASH&referralObject=8305794&referralPlaylistId=playlist ,I start by feeling sympathy because I'm sure it would be terrible to lose a parent. But then I start to question what kind of health care her father would get if he had NO health insurance. And then I get a bit annoyed with Fox because they only show things that promote their agenda. Where's the video that shows a woman whose father was saved because he had medicare? That would be a bit more "fair and balanced" in my humble opinion. After the annoyed feeling subsides, I start to ask myself why I even look at things I know will annoy me in the first place. Now comes the psychological self-examination stage of the process. Then, after I decide that looking inward is a hopeless endeavor, I start to feel a bit more complacent (which is where the accepting things I cannot change comes into play). I vow to never watch things that I know I will disagree with again. Then however many minutes later, I'm doing it all again.

What I was going to get at before my mind obviously went a bit off-course is this: Is the media at fault for any misinformation, spun information, or bias information? Or is it us, as the consumers that should take a bit of responsibility and search for the truth instead of just simply believing (or not) in things we want (or don't want) to believe in just because someone in a suit says it and because it fits into the comfort zone of our own beliefs? Is the media poisoning us with lies? Or are we poisoning ourselves because of our own lack of effort and simply blaming the media because it's the easier thing to do?